Should we embrace change or should we just stay stuck in our old ways? I say nuts to the latter, change is a good thing, especially in creative worlds. A week ago, my favourite band 'Rise Against' released their brand new record, 'The Black Market'. It's their seventh album and if they've earned the right to experiment and try something new, seven is the magic number. That got me thinking about how we react to new things, like our favourite bands and new books from authors we love. Would we rather have something different every time or would we want them to make similar efforts and keep us happy with a steady stream of sameness? It's also made me think about how I tackle new projects and those same questions come around every time.
Trafficking in the Black Market
Music fans could be the main culprits for the argument. All it takes is a quick glance at a YouTube comment to see how they feel about a song. I can only speak for 'Rise Against' in this case, but one call many hardcore fans chant is 'make another album like 'Revolutions Per Minute'!' Yeah, that was when they were still unknown and they were channeling their energy in a certain way. A great album? Absolutely, but why would you want it again? If bands stuck to the same formula with every record, everybody would complain that they can never change. Just like if they do change, they'll complain that they can't stick to their roots. To me, bands should evolve, they should try something new. You shouldn't be stuck in a genre just because the first album was punk. Then again, most bands do, but they tweak their style within that genre. If 'Rise Against' starts writing heavy metal music then we can yell at them. 'The Black Market' is an album that stands on its own two feet, it's something different, a perfect blend between the old and the new. And I love it. Surprise, surprise that my Songs of the Week are all from that record.
Authors get to genre-jump with more freedom, I think. Good, because I love to write contemporary stories, but I also love science fiction. If I could only pick two worlds, it would be YA contemporary and science fiction. Stephen King writes loads of books and each one stands alone as its own story. Every time I read one of his novels, it feels completely different from the last and that's how I feel about my own work. Once I write something, I want to try something new. If I got stuck writing similar stories all the time, I'd probably lose my mind. Maybe I wouldn't, but I bet I would. That's why I admire authors like Cassandra Clare and J.K Rowling, those guys have the willpower and the love to stick with a series with the same amount of passion they started with. I'm a standalone story kind of guy. Maybe one day I'll write a series. I hope so. Speaking of series's, Tom Rob Smith wrote a fantastic trilogy of Soviet Russian crime novels and his latest book, 'The Farm' which came out earlier this year was completely different- a contemporary thriller set in England and Sweden. Loving the change and it allowed his audience to read a different part of his literary interests. Top book.
Authors get to genre-jump with more freedom, I think. Good, because I love to write contemporary stories, but I also love science fiction. If I could only pick two worlds, it would be YA contemporary and science fiction. Stephen King writes loads of books and each one stands alone as its own story. Every time I read one of his novels, it feels completely different from the last and that's how I feel about my own work. Once I write something, I want to try something new. If I got stuck writing similar stories all the time, I'd probably lose my mind. Maybe I wouldn't, but I bet I would. That's why I admire authors like Cassandra Clare and J.K Rowling, those guys have the willpower and the love to stick with a series with the same amount of passion they started with. I'm a standalone story kind of guy. Maybe one day I'll write a series. I hope so. Speaking of series's, Tom Rob Smith wrote a fantastic trilogy of Soviet Russian crime novels and his latest book, 'The Farm' which came out earlier this year was completely different- a contemporary thriller set in England and Sweden. Loving the change and it allowed his audience to read a different part of his literary interests. Top book.
Crumbling Castles
There comes a time though when listening to the same albums or reading the same books over and over loses its appeal. A few years ago, 'The Offspring' released their latest album, a record that took years to make and at first I loved it, probably because I hadn't heard new 'Offspring' in ages. Then, on my second listening I found out that many of the songs were simple, jaded and nothing interesting. The telltale signs of a band starting to fray. I can't judge, I've never been in a band and I can't think up an original tune, but everybody can make honest criticism. I'm sure it'll happen to everybody eventually, that spark will die and you've made your last 'new' creation. With hope, that won't happen until the day we die so then we have the perfect excuse. 'Well, why haven't you made anything new?' Well, didn't you hear? I died. It's hard though, trying to do different things every time and I can't blame bands or maybe even authors for their reluctance to leave familiar ground. Most books I read from the same author don't feel the same from their last. John Green's books are all different, the same as Stephen King and that's how I like it.
So, my advice would be simple: write what the hell you want. If you want to stick to what you know the most, then go for it. Nobody knows better than the person writing the story or making the music, but everybody will criticize what you do. But, there are some poor sods out there who'll make it personal. The internet allows for such low-level obscurity. As long as you do what makes you happy, then that's all that matters. Screw everybody else.
Songs of the Week:
So, my advice would be simple: write what the hell you want. If you want to stick to what you know the most, then go for it. Nobody knows better than the person writing the story or making the music, but everybody will criticize what you do. But, there are some poor sods out there who'll make it personal. The internet allows for such low-level obscurity. As long as you do what makes you happy, then that's all that matters. Screw everybody else.
Songs of the Week:
- 'Methadone' by Rise Against
- 'Bridges' by Rise Against
- 'The Eco-Terrorist in Me' by Rise Against
- 'Tragedy + Time' by Rise Against
- 'The Black Market' by Rise Against
- 'People Live Here' by Rise Against